Shanghai Watchdog: New Restaurant, Bars and Vintage Delights

Shanghai Watchdog: New Restaurant, Bars and Vintage Delights
By Susie Gordon , eChinacities.com

Summer is here in force, bringing sweltering sunshine and a host of new openings and events around town. Here's our round-up of recent new openings and interesting happenings in the city.

New openings

July is always a fruitful month for restaurant openings. Down on the South Bund, the newly reopened Horizen is about to launch its fine dining restaurant, Jack London. The concept behind the menu is Californian cuisine, and the kitchen is led by Anna Bautista who used to work at Michelin-starred Madero in California. She also used to work at Public in San Francisco, which inspired the Sinan Lu venue of the same name here in Shanghai.

A new cigar lounge and restaurant called Hardoon has just opened on the part of Beijing Xi Lu near to People's Square. Named after Old Shanghai businessman Silas Hardoon, it promises to be luxurious, despite its rather incongruous setting in a serviced apartment building.

Over in Xintiandi, Haiku by Hatsune has branched out into Southeast Asian fare with Pulau Ketam – a restaurant dedicated to crab (of the non-hairy variety). Nearby on Taicang Lu, de Bellotas is already making waves with its delicious 48-month aged Jamon Iberico de Bellota, which is made from the meat of pigs that have eaten only acorns all their lives. There's also chorizo, cheese, lomo and salchicon on the menu, among other Spanish delicacies.

Shanghai's bike trend continues on Yongkang Lu, where Ginseng manager Charles Liao has opened a bar called Handle Bar. It serves beer and has a convivial, relaxed atmosphere where cyclists can chill with like-minded friends and talk about their rides.

The Yanping Lu boom continues, as Inno Dining opens up in the Feng Lan Hotel down the lane beside Yikki. It is named after its Osaka-born owner and head, Inoue Daisuke, and is a transplant from Gubei. The menu includes innovative creations like tofu fondue, and the drinks list has everything you'd expect from an izakaya.

Coming later in the year is Jean George's Vongerichten's first foray into Italian cuisine, with Mercato at Three on the Bund. The menu will focus on coastal food, and the design comes from architecture firm Neri & Hu.

Also at Three on the Bund, entrepreneur Olivier Chouvet and French Argentinean Marcelo Joulia are launching a huge tapas lounge called Unico, with two-star Michelin Chef, Mauro Colagreco at the helm. The venue is set to open in mid-July. Colagreco is also opening a restaurant of his own, called simply Colagreco.

Another international transplant is due to launch later this year in the form of Hakkasan. It will be interesting to see if a high-end Chinese restaurant from abroad will work in Shanghai, but if the success of Hakkasan's other venues is anything to go by, it's sure to go down well.

In nightlife news, Muse on the Bund has opened in the Rockbund center, providing a more up-market addition to the brand's portfolio of nightclubs. Across to the northern reaches of town, old favorite local haunt Joy Bar has reopened a couple of streets up from its original Wuning / Yuyao location. The new version sits just behind the Carrefour on Changshou Lu before you hit Wuning Bridge.

Over in the ever-growing Taikang Terrace, Hong Kong robatayaki and sake lounge Sakesan has opened its first location on the Mainland. With beautiful interiors and a top-notch menu, it's a pricey but worthwhile addition to the area.

Lolo Loves Vintage has just reopened on Yongfu Lu, with a cute outdoor space and plenty of vintage treasures inside. Opposite the shop's former location on Wuyuan Lu (which has been transformed into the XinleLu.com showroom), a new Prohibition-era speakeasy has opened. It's called Senator, and is decorated with dark wood and chandeliers. The drinks are typical of the era, with sazeracs, whiskies and all sorts of cocktails, along with a small selection of tasty bar snacks like toasted sandwiches.

Closings…

After a month or so of winding down (and several weeks of closing parties) the 528 Kangding complex has now gone, taking Kuluska, Shed, Kaiba and Crocus with it. Watch this space for news of the inevitable reopenings that will happen for each venue later in the year.

Malaysian restaurant Food Fusion in the Parkson Building has closed for renovations, and will be open again at the end of the summer. The Parkson supermarket downstairs is also closed at the moment.

What's on…

Registration has just opened for the 2012 JP Morgan Challenge, which is the world's largest corporate sporting event. The race is happening in October, and registration closes on September 28th. There's a limit of 6,500 people who can signed up, so register your team now to ensure a place (individual runners are not permitted). The race happens in 13 cities around the world, and Shanghai's version will cover 5.6km at the Xuhui Riverside Public Open Space. The winning male, female and mixed teams get to take part in the world championships later in the year. 

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Keywords: new openings Shanghai vintage shops Shanghai new restaurants Shanghai 2012

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